Remington Park Honors 25-year employee Ed Crane

By Avery Oden

In 1988, Remington Park first opened its doors to the public. Every year since, we've worked hard to bring our own style of excitement and entertainment to provide a little bit of an escape to the busy lives of Oklahomans from all over the state. 

To commemorate our 25th anniversary Remington Park is honoring the employees that have been here since day one, working to bring the glory, elegance, and thrill of horse racing to the generations. 

So today, we recognize Ed Crane. Ed is our head starter at Remington Park, and has been starting the races every consecutive year since opening day in September of 1988. 

For our readers who may not be familiar with the significance of Ed’s tenure as starter, or the importance of his position to the industry of horse racing, let me emphasize – Ed is quite possibly the most vital person at Remington Park.

The job of starters is to safely and efficiently start the horse races. While this might seem pretty straightforward, the task is extremely complicated and dangerous, requiring exceptionally high levels of care and intuition. Let’s not forget that race horses are virtually 1,200 pounds of unpredictable muscle – with a kick of up to 10,000 Newtons. This is roughly equal to the force of an automobile traveling at 20 mph.

Another essential part of Ed’s job is to school the horses. Horses are notoriously fickle animals. They do not like to be in tight spaces and cannot easily deal with lots of stimulation. Therefore, Ed must treat each horse like the individuals they are; working with them one by one every morning to get them comfortable and familiar with the starting gate. If anything goes wrong, or an improperly schooled horse is put into the gate, the lives and wellbeing of the jockey, gate crew, and horse are all compromised.

This is Ed’s job, and he’s done it with a brave passion at Remington Park for 25 consecutive years.

RP: When did you start working at Remington Park?

EC: August 1^st, 1988.

RP: What is your position?

EC: Head Starter.

RP: And you’ve been back every year since you began here?

EC: Yes.

RP: Tell a little bit about your duties as Starter.

EC: Well, I start the races and supervise the starting crew and schooling of the horses at the starting gate.

RP: And how did you wind up starting a career as starter at Remington Park?

EC: I was working in Florida as an assistant starter, and RP’s racing secretary (who was also from Florida) needed a starter, so he approached me for the position and hired me.

RP: What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?

EC: I really enjoy schooling young horses at the gate, particularly fixing problem horses. Working with the horses and getting them to do what you need them to do… That’s my favorite part of my job. And the guys I work with! I'm lucky enough to be part of the best starting gate crews in the country - and that's no exaggeration. I couldn't ask for a better team, which makes my job that much more enjoyable. 

RP: Why do you choose to return to Remington Park every year?

EC: (laughs) I just love my job, you know? It’s not hard, I just love what I do!

RP: How did you learn to do what you do?

EC: Well, some of it can be learned, but it’s also a gift. Knowing the difference between a horse that’s scared and one that’s just ornery… some of that is kind of a gift.

RP: How has Remington Park changed over the years?

EC: Well, when it first started we were just a racetrack, and Oklahomans really embraced it. I mean, the grandstand was always just PACKED. But as simulcasting came into the picture, it started to erode the live handle, since people could place bets and watch the races off-site. Eventually we started losing money and I was pretty sure we were gonna go out of business. Then, when we got approved to put a casino in the building, it really reinvigorated the live racing, and brought in some money for even better horses. Our quarter horse racing has always been about the best in the country, but now our Thoroughbred racing is the best it’s ever been. Now Remington Park is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s really all thanks to our adaptation.

RP: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

EC: Oh, I don’t know. Just that I love my job, and I’m glad that I’m here! I have a great job, working with the best starting gate crew in the industry. I’ll probably be here until they run me off! (laughs)

On behalf of RemingtonPark, we’d like to offer Ed Crane a sincere and heartfelt congratulations – not only for his outstanding service as starter for 25 consecutive years, but also for his ability to find that oh-so-evasive intersection of passion and career that so few of us have been lucky enough to attain.

Remington Park is Oklahoma's #1 sporting entertainment destination. Unlike any other Casino in the area, we offer a unique blend of continually-updated casino games, live music, fine dining and both live and simulcast horse racing.

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